Busbi Video - Busbi Video

Summary

Our Score

Output options include creating an AVI, emailing a WMV file, and recording to a DV or VHS camcorder. There's an option to burn to CD, but we couldn't get this to work on our test system. So, VideoImpression 2 is a very basic piece of software which doesn't go beyond the abilities already available with Windows Movie Maker. In fact, the latter actually has some features VideoImpression 2 doesn't, making the bundled software's existence rather pointless for anyone running Windows XP or later.

Strangely, the busbi Video also doesn't come with any drivers to enable its use as a webcam. This is a shame, as bundling a little desktop stand and webcam features would have doubled up its abilities and made it a little more useful.

With so many digital cameras and mobile phones now including video recording capabilities, standalone devices need to offer something better, or be very cheap indeed. The busbi Video is very cheap, but it's also very limited in ability. Big-name flash memory camcorders such as Panasonic's tiny SDR-S10 do cost quite a bit more, but they also offer useful features and significantly superior video quality you could consider showing to people on a big screen.

Verdict

The busbi Video is just about cheap enough to make it an impulse purchase for those wanting a quick dabble with YouTube. But for most other requirements we'd recommend saving up a bit more money and choosing something more capable. And if you already have a mobile phone with video capabilities, it's likely to be at least as good, if not better, than the busbi Video.